Corrugated-metal end for railway-cars



' w. F. WOOLARD.

CORRUGATED METAL END FOR RAILWAY CA-RS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 16, I921- Patented Nov. 29, W21;

m4 affarfi ys.

UNHTEH WILLIAItI F. WOOLABD, 0F WAUWAT'OSA, WISCONSIN.

CORRUGATED-METAL END FOR RAILWAY-CARS.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, VViLLIAM F. lVooL- ARD, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of \Vauwatosa,county of Milwaukee, and State of Wisconsin, have invented a certain newand useful Imrovement in Corrugated-Metal Ends for liailway-Cars; and Ido declare the following to be a clear, exact, and .complete descriptionthereof, such as will enable persons skilled in the art to which theinvention pertains to make and use the. same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing for an illustration of one form in which myinvention may be embodied in reducing it to practice.

My invention relates to a corrugated metal end unit for railway freightcars, and comprises a car end unit embodying c ertain dominant featuresof construction which will be hereinafter described in detail, and thenovelty of which will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing which accompanies this specification-- Figure l is ahorizontal sectional view on the line 1-1, Fig. 2, showing the preferredform of my improved corner post, with a portion of the corrugated endplate in correct relation thereto, the view showing also in dotted linesa portion of the car structure.

Fig. 2 is a View in elevation of a portion of one end of a car end unit,in the construction of which my improved corner post is incorporated.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line 3-3, Fig. 2, showing theconfiguration of the post, and the application of the cor-- ru ated endplate thereto.

ig. 4 is a fragmentary section on the line 4-4, Fig. 2, showing moreclearly the manner of forming the corrugations upon the end flange ofthe post.

Fig. 5 is a view in elevation of the interior of a section of the post,looking in the direction of the arrow A in Fig. 1, showing the side andend flanges of the post, with the groove in the angle formed by theconverging flanges, and showing also how the corrugations in the endflange of the post gradually merge into the angle thereof.

Fig. dis a horizontal sectional view showing a modified form of myinvention.

At the present time, there are in operation by the railroads of theUnited States approximately 2,600,000 freight cars. Of

Specification of Letters Patent. Pate t d N 29 19210 Application filedApril 16, 1921.

Serial No. 461,766.

this number, some 200,000 have been equipped with corrugated metal endsunder governmental direction. This feature of construction is now beingincorporated in new cars under specifications by the master carbuilders, and is likewise applied to old cars when necessity arises forrepair thereof, 1t having been ascertained by test and experience that ahorizontally corrugated car end possesses the greatest powers ofresistance attainable in structures of this class.

The metallic end structure now being applied to railway cars is adevelopment which has arisen from a situation brought about by changingconditions. The airpressure control with which all railway trains arenow equipped has produced the changed conditions referred to.Heretofore, freight cars were generally constructed of wood, on accountof the availability and cheapness thereof, and the absence of anyperfection of the idea of utilizing, a metallic end structure, or anyknowledge as to the desirability thereof.

Formerly, the time and distance within which moving freight trains werebrought to a state of. rest by the now obsolete types of braking devicesthen employed, were each comparatively long. As a result of the gradualbringing of the freight train to this condition of rest, there was butlittle shift- .ing of the load in the cars, and consequently the woodenends of the cars were not damaged by the movement of the load.

With the introduction and modern equipment of all trains withair-brakes, the distance within which a freight train may be brought toa halt is materially lessened, with a corresponding decrease of the timewithin which the stop is made. One of the results of these newconditions is that ashifting of the load is unavoidable, unless securedagainst movement within the car. However, certain classes of freight,the momentum of which is beyond control, are shifted in the stopping ofthe train, so that the ends of the car are damaged and in many instancescompletely destroyed.

These adverse conditions resulting from the more rapid movement offreight trains and the shortening of the time and distance within whichthe same are now brought to a condition of rest, has stimulated theintroduction of improvements in the end structure of freight cars, witha view to over- .incomplete manner meet the requirements of thesituation, on account of the lack of rigidity in car ends soconstructed, and their general inability to resist the destructivestrains to which they are subjected by the shifting of the mass of thematerial constituting the load. Metal plates, bars, rods, beams andchannels, in particular, as well as lumber, exert a destructive forceupon the ends of the cars in which they are loaded, by reason of theimpossibility ofsecuring such loads against shifting movement, orrestraining the momentum of the mass when the train is slowed up orhalted.

The earlier use of fiat metal plates in the construction of car ends hasbeen followed by the use of corrugated metal plates, which possessgreatly increased resisting proper ties due to their formation, whichprovides against lateral deflection, as is well known.

These corrugated plates have assumed almost every conceivable form, andhave been found'to overcome the difficulties and objections heretoforeexisting, and to answer all of the requirements for rigidity andstrength, so that the corrugated type of car end construction is nowaccepted as offering a solution of a vexatious problem.

Corrugated metal end plates for railway cars are divisible into twotypes, when viewed from a constructional standpoint. The first typeembraces plates having corrugations, whatever may be their form, whichdo not extend from edge to edge of the plate, but which terminate withinthe dimensional lines thereof, so as to leave plane marginal surfaces onthe plates adjacent the corrugations, which plane margins constitute aconvenient and ready means of attachment of the end plate to the car.This type of corrugated plate, however, is quite difficult ofconstruction, as will be later pointed out. The second type embracesplates having parallel corrugations which extend from edge to edge ofthe plate, so that two opposite corrugated margins are presented.Although the second type of corrugated plate is much more simple in thematter of its production, a difiiculty exists in providing satisfactoryand convenient adjunctive means for attaching an end plate so corrugatedto the car. Such attaching means necessarily must be provided withcorrelated corrugations of such form as to permit a eeaaae properassemblage and union to be established between the parts. Thedifficulties encountered in the manufacture of suitable attaching meansfor end plates of the latter type will be explained farther on.

End plates having corrugations which terminate within the horizontaldimensions of the plate, leaving plane surfaces upon the side margins ofthe plate adjacent the ends of the horizontal corrugations formedtherein, for providing an advantageous means of attaching the plates tothe body of the car, are now generally employed. But the advantages ofsimplicity of attachment thus obtained, are more than offset by thedisproportionately large attendant expense and the diflicult operationsnecessarily performed in producing a large plate with horizontalcorrugations, the length of which is less than the full width of theplate in which they are formed. It being mechanically impossible topress the very large corrugations in a cold plate of the dimensionsrequired, without exceeding the elastic limits of the plate andproducing a condition in which the molecular integrity of the plate isdestroyed, it is necessary that-the plate be brought to a proper stateof ductility by first heating the plate in a furnace.

But while the plates have been heated so as to enable the easierformation of the corrugations therein, this later practice is beset bythe same serious objection mentioned, and in many cases the elasticlimit of the metal is likewiseexceeded in forming the corrugations, sothat parts of the structure thereof are stretched to such an extent thattheir integrity is impaired in a very large measure.

' The plates are thus very seriously weakened,

and are deprived of the essenm'als of rigidity and strength in such adegree as to affect their serviceability and endurance. At best, andunder the most favorable conditions, the initial rigidity of the plateis greatly lessened by'the annealing which occurs in heating the plate.

Moreover, the production of car end plates having corrugations which donot reach the side margins of the plates in which they are formed, asdescribed herein, necessitates the installation of enormous and powerfulpresses, capable of exerting a pressure of many thousands of tons. Thecosts involved in the erection and operation of such presses, coupledwith the fuel and labor costs involved in the heating of such plates,and the difiiculties attendant upon the manipulation of the very largeheated plates for action all naeaaee car with facility. But thisapparent advantage presents nothing possessing a substantial reality,forit has no compensation fo the structural disadvantages which followfrom the distortion and consequent weakening of the sheet metal inproducing corrugations the length of which is less than the width of themetal plate in which they are formed.

It is recognized by the mastercar builders, whose judgments compriseconsideration of both serviceability and cost, that an idealconstruction of devices of this class is one in which the metal sheetused in the formation of the end plate of a railway freight car iscorrugated from edge to edge in the direction of the width of the plate.A freight car end embodying as an element an end plate of this type,when formed from a flat late of suitable gage, is declared to meet 1nthe fullest measure all of the requirements imposed thereon in thetraflic. A plate so corrugated maybe produced without any distortion ofthe metal, such as is inevitable and inseparable from the practice ofthe methods "lhe desirable resultstated may also be achieved Without theuse of the powerful presses, costly in construction and expensive lIloperation, or the heatingfurnaces, which have heretofore been requiredin producing corrugations less in length than the width of the plates inwhich they are formed. An 1 end plate corrugated over its entirearea'may be produced from a cold plate'by passing the same through apair of fluted rollers, which will form the corrugationswithoutstretching the metal. lhis operation does not detract from thepreservation in the largest possible measure of its entirety, themolecular integrity of the plate as it leaves the rolling mill. Thefluted rollers act to produce corrugations which'are uniform in theirformation, so that after the plate passes through the rollers it is notnecessary to subject the same to any other treatment, other than thatwhich is incident to the formation of the attaching rivet holes therein.

While as hereinbefore stated, a car end formed from a metal platecorrugated from edge to edge as described, is declared to be ideal,viewed from the standpoint of efficiency and cost of product-ion, such.structures have not come into general use. In studying the situation. Ihave discovered that a serious obstacle preventing the use .of suchplates, resides in the inability to an angular member pressed from asteel plate of proportionate gage with the grain of the metal runningwith the plate, one flange of which member is corrugated to correspondand to engage and interlock with the corrugations of the end plate ofthe car, and the other flange of which is preferably formed as a plansurface to embrace and be easily attached to the side of the car. Theformation of aflanged member as described, is accompanied by peculiarconditions which are difficult to overcome in the production of a cornerpiece possessing the requisite degree of strength, by reason of theexcessive distortion unavoidably imposed upon the metal in forming thecorrugated flange, which difficulties and consequent objections do notappear to have been surmounted heretofore.

' A patent granted in 1916 discloses the idea of the construction of acar end composed of a plate having corrugations extending from edge toedge thereof. In the said patent, a cast steel corner post of peculiarfor-- mation for engaging the corrugations of the end plate isdescribed, but such a post does not appear to meet the requirements ofthe present situation, by reason of the. inability to secure uniformityin the structure of castings, and the limitations imposed upon theelasticity thereof. The causes of lack of uniformity in a series of likecastings are well known, and a post having the structural featuresrecited could not be produced as a stamping from a metal plate in whichthe grain of the metal extends longitudinal thereof, or in a directiontransverse to that in which the greatest stress occurs.

A patent granted in 1917 discloses a car end plate having the formationjust described. The said patent describes an angular corner piece. oneflange of which is corrugated to receive the corrugations of the endplate of the car, and the other flange of which is formed as a plane tobear against the side thereof. The corrugations of the end flange of thecorner piece are shown as extending to the angle thereof, but it isdifficult to form the corrugations in the relation shown without anundue distortion of the metal of the corner piece, because of the extentof the displacement of the metal which must unavoidably take place inproducing corrugations of a depth which will accommodate those of theend plate of the car. No reserve of metal can be drawn upon in formingthe abrupt corrugations in the objection adverted to as existing in theprior structure is not overcome, inasmuch as there exists in the latterstructure the same undue displacement of the metal in the formation ofthe corrugated flange, by reason of the lack of any reserve of metalwhich can be drawn upon in forming the corrugations. The channelsconstituting the corrugations are formed with abrupt ends as before, andthis construction subjects the metal to a like distortion, withconsequent weakening of the structure.

In my studies conducted with a view to overcoming the objectionsexisting in known structures, 1 have found that a car end platecorrugated from edge, to edge thereof in the manner now greatly to bepreferred, may be successfully and satisfactorily used with a cornerpost of special construction, in which the Cl1fi1C11ll3l6S ofmanufacture heretofore encountered and the inherent weak- I nesses offormer structures of corner memhers are completely eliminated.

In its preferred form, my improved corner post'is formed as apressed-steel angular member with the grain of the'metal running in thedirection of the length thereof,

- with flanges of the corner post standing approximately 90 apart, andjoined in such manner asto form a groove lengthwise of the post in theinterior angle thereof. It is preferable from a manufacturingstandpoint, that the groove in the angle formed by the convergence ofthe laterally extend ing flanges of the corner post be of circular crosssection, so as to produce upon the exterior angle of the post acorresponding straight, rounded rib extending longitudinally of thepost. The semi-tubular con struction thus produced contributes anadditional'element of strength to the post. One of the flanges ispreferably formed as a plane surface, to embrace the side of the car andbe easily attached thereto, as heretofore. The other or end flange ofthe post is corrugated on transverse lines corresponding exactly withthe corrugations of the end plate, so that the corrugations of the'partswill engage and interlock when the posts are attached to the end plate,one post to be attached to each vertical edge of the end plate, toconstitute a complete car end unit.

'The provision of the longitudinal groove in the interior angle of thecorner post provides a reserve area of metal which may be recast-e drawnupon in forming the corrugations in the end flange of the post, suchcorrugations gradually merging into the groove, so that the metal of theflange is but slightly displaced in PIOClllCiIlg the corrugations, andthis is effected without approaching the elastic limit of the material.In my improved construction, there occurs no violentandabrupt-distortion of the molecular structure of the metal, such aswould. have the effect of weakening ,lthe same.

Having outlined the nature of my invention in the foregoing, I will nowdescribe a specific embodiment thereof which I have chosen toillustrate. in the drawing, the numerals 10 and 11 designate,respectively, portions of the side and end of the frame of a railwaycar, the end plate 12 of which is corrugated horizontally from edge toedge thereof. My improved corner post is indicated by the numeral 13.This post may be pressed into angular cross-sectional form from a flatsteel plate of any suitable gage, possessing the strength and rigiditynecessary to the satisfactory performance of its purposes although aplate having a gage of 0.3125" will ordinarlly be suflicient. Instead ofproducing a right angle at the juncture of the flanges, I enlarge thestructure of the angle into a semi-tubular formation 14 so as to provideupon the exterior of the post a pronounced rounded rib 15, and aninterior groove 16, from which semi-tubular formation the angularlydisposed flanges 17 and 18 extend laterally. The side flange 17 maybeformed as a plane surface adapted to bear upon'and be secured to-theside of the car at the end thereof. The'end flange 18 is corrugatedtransversely as before stated, the corrugations extending from the edgeof the flange toward the angle and being radually merged into the groovethereat. 18 is a gradual development out of one side of the semi-tubularportion 14, so that the connecting portion of the flange 18 and thesemi-tubular portion 14 does not abruptly depart from the vertical planeof the said flange. This construction creates a reserve of metal whichmay be drawn upon in producing the corrugationsof the flange 18, andenables such corrugations to be formed in the flange without undulystraining the metal of the corner post.

As a result, the end flange 18 of the post may be corrugated withoutsubjecting the t will be observed that the end flange metal to thetensional stresses which are inload, but will be free from liability tofrac naeaeae with greater facility. The corrugated endplate will beattached to the corrugated posts In practice, the corrugated flange ofthe.

corner posts will overlap the outer margins of the corrugated end plate,although a reverse of this arrangement may be resorted to, if desired.In either construction, the rounded longitudinally extending ribs 15,which are quite pronounced, serve to create a setting for the end plate,which lies within the vertical plane formed by the meeting of thetangential lines extending from the rounded exterior formation of thecorner posts, and thus is produced a paneled efi'ect of pleasingappearance.

Fig. 6 shows a modification of the struc ture in which the angle formedby the laterally extending flanges of the corrugated post is made toapproach more closely a tubular formation, by reducing the distance bywhich the said flanges are separated, so as to permit the end plate tobe applied to the exterior surface of the flanges of the posts, and atthe same time bring such plate within the parallel tangents of thetubular formation. The paneled eifect produced by the rounded ribs,before described, is not detracted from. The modification also enables aside plate to be attached to the other flange of the post, in the samerelative position.

The corrugated end plates may be formed from a single sheet of suitabledimensions and of a gage which will enable it to resist the stressesimposed in the shifting of the load when the train is stopped. A steelplate having a gage of 0.25 will ordinarily e sufficient. But if the endplate be composed of a plurality of sections, the upper section may bemade of thinner gage material, the two sections forming the end platebeing united along a horizontal line,

as is customary in present day car construction, and as shown in PatentNo. 1,031,571, July 2, 1912. The corrugated posts may be attached attheir lower ends to the sills of the car, as shown in Patent No.1,208,928, December 19, 1916, and may be anchored in place by means ofdiagonal members, as shown in Patent No. 1,070,380, August 12, 1913.This arrangement will constitute a rigid structure which willsuccessfully resist the destructive force of the shifting ture becauseof the elastic nature of the steel employed.

By forming the corner posts from sheet steel with the grain thereofrunning in the direction of the length of the post, a maximum strengthin the structure is secured, inasmuch as the stresses are applied inlines pressed steel corner post is further advan tageous in that suchmaximum strength is attained by the use of a structure much lighter thancould be obtained in a cast steel post of inelastic formation of muchgreater weight.

ll hile T have described the flanges of the corner post as standingapproximately. at an angle of 90, it is obvious that the degree ofangularity of the end flanges may be varied from the longitudinal lineof the car within reasonable limits, and while I have specified in someof my claims that the said flanges are spaced 90 apart, it is to beunderstood, that I do not limit myself to such exact spacing.

My present invention has enabled me to construct a corrugated metal carend unit of maximum strength and durability and at a greatly reducedcost. At the same time I am able to produce such a car end unit withoutthe installation of heating furnaces and powerful presses, theconstructional and operating costs of which, constituting an excess, arechargeable against the product. By my improvement, T am also enabled toconstruct an angular corner post with transverse corrugations on one ofits flanges,

Although I have previously stated that the corrugations co-extensive'with the lateral dimensions of the end plate may be pro- .duced by coldrolling, it is obvious that such corrugations may be formed by hot orcold pressing, or as a final operation upon the heated plate at therolling mill. The transverse corrugations may be formed upon the cornerpost either by cold pressing or hot pressing, as may be found expedient,both methods being entirely practicable in connection with the presentconstruction, in

which the corrugated flange of the post is always provided with areserve supply of metal which may be drawn upon for the gradualformation of the flaring corrugations, without the excessive distortionand abrupt displacement of the metal heretofore described as incident tothe production of.

prior structures.

1 have deemed it sufficient for the purpose of making clear thedisclosure of the invention, to show the framing of the car in a merelyconventional manner, inasmuch as the structure thereof and the methodsof applying the invention thereto, are matters opposed by the greatestresistance, A Having thus described my invention, what ent of the UnitedStates, is:

1. The framing of a railway car, in combination with a metallic endplate corrugated from edge to edge, and a pair of pressed-steel cornerposts for'attachlng the edges of the plate to the framing, said postseach having angular flanges and a longitudinal groove in the anglethereof, one flange of each post being corrugated on lines paralleltothe corrugations of the end plate, the said corrugations on the postgradually merging into the groove in the angle thereof, the end plateand the posts being connected with the corrugations on the parts engagedand interlocked.

2. hefraini'ng of a railway car, in combination with a metallic endplate corrugated trom edge to edge, and a pair of pressed-steel cornerposts for attaching the edges of the plate to the framing, said postseach having angular flanges, one flange of each post beingcorrugated onlines parallel to the corrugations of the end plate, the saidcorrugations on the post gradually merging into the angle thereof, theend plate and the posts being connected with the corrugations thereonengaged and interlocked.

3. The framing of a railway car, in combination with a metallic endplate having horizontal corrugations, and a pair of pressed-steel cornerposts for attaching the edges of the plate to the framing, said postseach having angular flanges one of which is plane and the othercorrugated on lines parallel to the corrugations of the end plate, thesaid flanges being spaced apart with a straight longitudinal groove inthe interior angle of the post, the corrugations on each post graduallymerging into the said groove in the angle of the post, the side marginsof the end plate and the posts being connected with the corrugationsengaged and interlocked.

l. In a railway car construction, a metallic end unit comprising a metalplate provided with parallel corrugations the length of which isco-extensive with the plate in which they are formed, in combinationwith a pair of corner posts attached one at each vertical margin of theplate, the said posts each formed as a flanged pressed-steel memher oneflange of which is corrugated on lines parallel to the corrugations ofthe end plate and the other flange of which is formed as a planeangularly disposed with relation to the corrugated flange, theend plateand corner posts being connected with their corrugations in interlockingen a ement, with the vertical edges of the em? p ate clear of engagementwith the plane surfaces of the posts.

5. In a railway c'ar construction, a metallic end unit comprising acorrugated end plate, in combination with a pair of pressedsteel cornerposts, each of the said posts havplane flange angularly disposed withrelation to the corrugated flange, the margins of the corrugated endplate engaging and interlocking with the corrugated flanges of the pairof posts and secured thereto with the vertical edges of the corrugatedend plate clear of engagement with the angularly disposed plane flangesof the posts.

6. In a railway car construction, a metallic end unit comprising a pairof corner posts, said posts having corrugated flanges arranged in thesame vertical plane and plane flanges extending in separated parallelvertical planes with the said plane flanges in angular relation to thecorrugated flanges, with a longitudinal groove in the angle formedbetween a corrugated and a plane flange, and the corrugations of thepost gradually merging into the groove thereof, in'combination with anend plate having corrugations extending in planes parallel with thecorrugation of the posts, the corrugated margins of the end plateengaging and interlocking with the corrugated flanges of the said cornerposts and secured thereto with the vertical edges of the corrugated endplate clear of the angular surfaces of the plane flanges.

7. In a railway car construction, a paneled metallic end unit comprisinga pair of pressed-steel corner posts, each having a straightlongitudinal rib of semi-tubular cross-section upon the exterior angleand a correspondingly formed groove in the interior angle thereof, withcorrugated flanges extending toward each other from the saidsemi-tubular section's in planes within the vertical plane formed by themeeting tangents of the said ribs, the corrugations of the flangegradually merging into the groove in the post, and a corrugated endplate having its side margins in interlocking engagement with andsecured to the corru- 110 gated flanges of the pair of posts and lyingwithin the said tangential plane.

8. In a railway car end construction, a pressed-steel corner .posthaving angular flanges which stand in vertical planes 90 11-5 apart, oneof said flanges being adapted for attachment to the side of the car andthe other to the end thereof, the said last mentioned end flange beingprovided with corrugations which extend transversely from 120 the edgeof the post toward the angle thereof and are gradually merged thereinto.

9. In a railway car end construction, a pressed-steel corner post havinga corrugated end flange and a side attaching flange 125 angularlydisposed with relation thereto, the corrugations of the end flangeextending from the edge of the post toward the angle formed by theflanges and being gradually merged thereinto.

essee-e 10. In a railway car end construction, a pressed-steel cornerpost having angular flanges spaces 90 apart with a straight longitudinalgroove in the interior angle of the post, one of said flanges beingadapted for attachment to the side of the car and the other to the endthereof, the last mentioned flange being provided with transversecorrugations which gradually merge into the said groove.

11. In a railway car end construction, a pressed-steel corner posthaving angular flanges which stand 90 apart, with a longitudinal groovein the interior angle of the post, one of said flanges being formed as aplane surfacev for attachment to the side of the car, and the other tothe end thereof, the said last mentioned flange being provided withcorrugations extending from the edge of the flange to the said grooveand gradually merging thereinto.

12. In a railway car end construction, a pressed-steel corner posthaving a straight, longitudinal groove in the interior angle thereof anda corresponding rib on the exterior thereof, and a transverselycorrugated lateral flange formed on the said rib, the corrugations ofthe flange gradually merging into the groove at the inner side of theflange.

13. A railway car end structure including a pressed-steel corner posthaving vertical side and end flanges arranged angularly with relation toeach other to form at their convergence a straight groove extendinglongitudinally of the post and a corresponding rib on the exteriorthereof, the said end flange being transversely corrugated from itsouter edge to the groove into which the corrugations gradually. merge,and a corrugated end plate attached to the post with the corrugations ofthe parts engaged and interlocked in fixed relation.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name at Milwaukee, this 12th dayof April, 1921.

W. F. WOOLARD. Witnewes:

C. THEO. Os'rERBERG, GLADYs MCGHEE.

